The present invention relates to an improved system for processing continuous multi-carboned paper stock material such as mailing pieces. The system utilizes an endless masking film belt overlay having strategically positioned slots or holes to mask unwanted printings on an outermost face of the stock material.
A variety of systems have been used over the years to produce multiple copies of documents using a single printing device. Some of the earliest systems utilized with typewriters are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,448,601 and 1,646,936 both to Smith. The Smith patents relate to tally strip mechanisms used as part of a bookeeping system. The '601 patent relates to a mechanism for use with a typewriter in which separate rolls are provided for the tally strip and the carbon strip. After passing around the platen, the two strips are wound onto a common receiving roll. A work-sheet to be printed is passed around the platen outside of the carbon strip. Printing is effected in the usual manner with a carbon copy being produced on the tally sheet. The '936 patent illustrates a system in which a tally sheet is fed into the typewriter along with a ledger sheet.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,052,583 to Sherman illustrates a typewriter having a manifolding apparatus for repetitiously employing short length carbon sheets with continuous multi-form stationaery. The carbon sheets are interleaved between sheets of the stationery and have a plurality of holes which register with a series of holes in the stationery sheets. Feed pins associated with the platen simultaneously advance the stationery sheets and the carbon paper. After completion of the writing operation, the carbon sheets are held stationary while the printed stationery sheets are advanced to a tear-off position.
In modern times, multi-carboned stationery pieces such as mailing pieces are produced using a so-called "fly sheet". A printer such as an impact printer prints information, for example, services rendered, amount due, credit status, name and address of the recipient, etc. on the fly sheet. The back of the fly sheet is strategically carboned so that when it is stripped off only certain information, such as the name and address of the recipient, is visible on the top sheet. Other printed information is thus masked from the top sheet while printed on underlying sheets.
The fly sheets, while advantageous because a carbon ribbon is not required, have certain disadvantages. The first disadvantage is purely economic--the additional cost associated with the specially carboned fly sheet.
The second disadvantage has to do with the labor required during stripping and disposal of the fly sheet. The fly sheet typically has to be manually stripped causing additional economic expense and additional manual handling of the printed material. A further disadvantage is the poor quality printed material frequently obtained using fly sheets.
Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide a more economic system and process for printing multi-carboned stock material.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a system and process as above for printing multi-carboned paper stock material which reduces the amount of labor associated therewith.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a process and system as above for printing multi-carboned paper stock material which is relatively simple to use.
These and further objects and advantages will become more apparent from the following description and drawings in which like reference numerals depict like elements.